Funding underway for "high-quality" Leeds development as London property investor secures £73m

A London property investment company is set to start work on a £350m Leeds project after securing £72.9m of funding.

Commercial Estates Group (CEG), a property investment management and development company, has completed a £72.9m sustainable transition loan agreement with Aviva Investors.

The funding will be partially used for the development of Globe Point, a 37,842 sq ft office in the Temple area of Leeds, which forms the first part of a £350m project by CEG.

The seven-storey building will deliver office space with ground floor break-out space and a cafe.

CEG will use the rest of the the loan proceeds to refinance a portfolio of six regional office assets across the UK.

Aviva Investors is providing the financing on behalf of a number of third-party client mandates.

Gregor Bamert, head of real estate debt at Aviva Investors, said: “We are pleased to have an opportunity to work with CEG through the provision of this sustainability linked loan, following active discussions over a number of years.

“CEG has a stated commitment to sustainability and improving the green credentials of its portfolio, which both parties were keen to incorporate into the loan. It is also pleasing to be able to fund the development of a new high-quality asset such as Globe Point.

“Despite short-term headwinds in the local office market, we are confident this portfolio will perform strongly given CEG’s active management capability and the quality of buildings it produces.”

Gerard Versteegh, chairman of CEG, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Aviva Investors as a strategic partner.

“We expect this will lead to a long, fruitful collaboration on many more projects to come.

“Our approach to sustainability is ambitious and embedded into everything we do.

“We continue to push the innovation boundaries to ensure well-being, technology and sustainability are at the heart of Globe Point.”